For most of the past 50 years, elections in El Salvador have
served not as a means to determine control of government,
but rather as a coronation ceremony for the party of the
military and oligarchy, lending it legitimacy through a
dubious popular mandate. Indeed, one party control of the
Salvadorian legislature has been extremely common, occurring
from 1950-63 and 1976-77. Such are the political
ramifications of a military-dominated, economically
stratified society.

Party politics since 1961 in El
Salvador break into two main periods, separated by a period
of military rule: 1961-1979 and 1981-2000. In the earlier
time period, four main parties vied for power (although
thanks to voting irregularities and corruption, the results
rarely were in question): the National Conciliation Party
(PCN), the Christian Democratic Party (PDC), the Renovating
Action Party (PAR) and the Salvadorean Popular Party (PPS).
Other minor parties also surfaced to contest elections
during this time period, including the Nationalist
Democratic Union (UDN), the United Independent Democratic
Front (FUDI), the Republican Party of National Evolution
(PREN) and the National Revolutionary Movement
(MNR).

Successive coups in 1960-1961 (the
first to topple the government of President José
María Lemus in 1960, the second to topple the
civilian-military junta in 1961) had resulted in a complete
lack of legislative government. To solve this problem,
elections were announced for December 17, 1961 for a
constituent assembly that would write a constitution (or
amend an old one) for the country. Lieutenant Colonel Julio
Adalberto Rivera, who had been heading the military junta,
stepped down from his position in order to lead the PCN in
the elections, which were the last to be held under a
non-proportional system (Webre, 1979: 44). The PCN won
easily against minor opposition parties, gaining all of the
seats in the assembly with 60% of the popular
vote.

In the view of the opposition, little
had changed from the days of the Revolutionary Party of
Democratic Reunification (PRUD). Like PRUD, the PCN was the
favored party of the military and oligarchy, and ruled
entirely without opposition. Rivera became President of El
Salvador in 1962, after running unopposed with the exception
of a donkey nominated by university students as the "only
candidate worthy to compete against officialism" (Webre,
1979: 47). In order to quell the protestations of the
opposition, Rivera promoted reforms that would liberalize
the electoral system, moving El Salvador towards more
proportional representation and allowing opposition parties
to hold national office (García, 1989:
65).

Under the economic prosperity of the
Alliance for Progress, however, it was unlikely that this
liberalization would result in the collapse of the ruling
party. The PDC was able to achieve significant gains in the
1964 elections, however, winning 27% of the seats in the
Legislative Assembly after receiving 26% of the vote. The
PCN maintained its control of the legislature, winning 32 of
the 52 seats, while the rightist PAR fell into a position of
coalition with the PCN, winning 6 seats in the election
(McDonald, 1969: 406).

A few opposition parties had abstained
from the 1964 elections, fearing a reprise of the electoral
irregularities that had characterized the PRUD regime. Thus,
due to the fairness of the 1964 contest, the 1966 elections
became more competitive. Not only did the PDC and PAR run in
the elections, but also the PPS and PREN. However, with
favorable economic conditions and continued prosperity, the
PCN was easily able to maintain control of the Assembly,
winning 31 seats with 51% of the popular vote. The PDC,
thanks to the popularity of Duarte as mayor of San Salvador,
gained an extra seat in the elections, increasing its
delegation to 15 of the 52 seats and securing a healthy 30%
of the vote. PAR, suffering internal strife between leftists
and conservatives in the party (the conservatives defected
to join the PPS), gained 4 seats. PPS received a single seat
with 2% of the vote, as did PREN, the party formed to
support Colonel Luís Roberto Flores (McDonald, 1969:
406-9).

After a bitter, dirty campaign for
President in 1967, the PCN saw more of its support slip in
1968 (Webre, 1979: 96-102). The party lost 4 seats in the
Assembly with 43% of the vote, meaning it held a scant two
seat majority over the combined opposition. The PDC was the
beneficiary of the PCN's waning support, as it garnered 40%
of the popular vote and increased its holdings in the
Legislative Assembly to 19 seats. The right's opposition
party, the PPS, won 4 seats in the election, while the left
wing MNR was able to gain 2 seats after winning 4% of the
vote (McDonald, 1969: 406-9).

A border war with Honduras over
Salvadorian settlers in 1969 (the famous "Football War,"
since it had been precipitated by a series of soccer games
between the two nations) was quickly followed with numerous
attempts by the opposition to assert their independence and
strength against the PCN. Agrarian reform legislation was
quickened, and opposition members clamored successfully for
positions on governmental committees (Webre, 1979: 124-5).
However, PCN countered this opposition in the campaign by
emphasizing nationalistic images of their success in leading
the war against Honduras, including employing military men
in the campaign  a tactic the opposition objected to
strongly (Webre, 1979: 133-4). The PCN swept powerfully to
power, winning 34 seats in the Legislative Assembly while
gaining 51% of the popular vote. The PDC dropped 3 seats to
fall to 16 seats in the legislature, while the PPS and the
Nationalist Democratic Union (UDN) each won 1 seat each
(Webre, 1979: 136).

Disappointed in their showing in the
1970 election, the progressive parties (PDC, UDN and MNR)
united in September of 1971 into the coalition National
Opposing Union (UNO) in order to contest the presidential
and legislative elections in 1972 (Webre, 1979: 153). By
1972, tensions between the PCN and the opposition had
mounted, and the presidential election that year did little
to help matters. The UNO candidate, the charismatic and
popular Duarte, appeared to be winning according to
television and radio announcers, but once broadcasts
stopped, the Consejo Central de Elecciones (CCE) announced
the next day that the PCN's candidate, Arturo Armando Molina
had won a narrow plurality (Webre, 1979: 170-1). The PCN
controlled Legislative Assembly then quickly moved to name
Molina as the president, in a vote that the opposition
members of the Assembly boycotted (Webre, 1979: 172). In the
subsequent Legislative Assembly elections, the corruption by
the PCN continued, as the UNO saw its ticket disqualified in
many key, urban areas where it enjoyed popular support. The
UNO urged the populous to deface their ballots, in the hope
that this would force the PCN to hold another, fairer round
of elections. However, the PCN and CCE declared the results
official, with the PCN winning 75% of the legislative seats.
The UNO coalition, victims of intense governmental
corruption, still were able to gain 15% of the seats, with
the right wing PPS gaining 8% of the legislature and the PCN
breakaway party FUDI gaining a single seat (Webre, 1979:
177).

On March 25th, young
military officers led an unsuccessful coup against the PCN
over the fraudulent election results. Once the coup had been
suppressed, the government arrested and exiled PDC leader
Duarte for his alleged support of the coup attempt. By the
1974 elections, the PCN had fully adopted the techniques of
electoral manipulation that had characterized the PRUD
regime. The 1974 elections were widely regarded as corrupted
(the government never released popular vote results), with
the PCN holding 36 seats, UNO winning 15 seats, and FUDI
able to secure a single seat again (Webre, 1979: 187). One
experienced student of Salvadorian politics, using
independent surveys, calculated that if the 1974 election
had been fair, UNO would have easily gained a majority in
the Legislative Assembly, thus creating the need for PCN
ballot manipulation (Webre, 1979: 187).

In 1975, students of the National
University protesting massive government expenditures on the
"Miss Universe" pageant (while much of the country was
poverty stricken), were fired upon by soldiers, killing at
least 37 students. In response, the opposition parties all
boycotted the 1976 Legislative Assembly elections, giving
the PCN unanimous control of the legislature (Webre, 1979:
194). The government had lost all credibility in the eyes of
the people, and in a feeble attempt to regain some
appearance of democratic elections, had to force the
unwilling PPS to participate in the 1978 elections. The PCN
won handily, securing 93% of the Legislative Assembly
(Bowdler and Cotter, 1982: 8).

With guerilla violence on the rise,
and a breakdown in the entire political mechanism, moderate
forces in the military ousted General Humerto Romero from
the presidency on 15 October, 1979 (García, 1989:
66). What resulted was a succession of juntas, and the rise
of the Farabundo Martí Liberation Front (FMLN) to
oppose the military and conservative forces in the nation
(García, 1979: 67). El Salvador soon found itself
embroiled in a civil war, fought between the left wing FMLN,
and conservative paramilitary groups.

Under pressure from the United States,
and in an attempt to reduce support for the FMLN, the ruling
junta called for elections to a constituent assembly in
1982. It was hoped that the centrist, US supported PDC would
succeed in the elections, thus giving the nation a mandate
for centrist government and weakening the "communist" FMLN
(García, 1989: 68-9). This plan failed, however, when
Major Roberto D'Aubuisson, an ultra-right wing army officer
"accused by many of active complicity in death squad
activity" (García, 1989: 73) formed the National
Republican Alliance (ARENA) to contest the election. ARENA
was able to secure 30% of the popular vote and 19 of the 60
seats in the Assembly. Uniting with the conservative PCN
(19% of the popular vote, 14 seats) in a rightist coalition,
ARENA and D'Aubuisson were able to wrest control of the
Assembly away from the PDC, which had only won a plurality
in the elections (24 seats and 40% of the popular vote). The
minor Democratic Action Party (PAD) won 2 seats with 7% of
the vote, while the PPS gained a single seat, thanks to its
3% popular support (García, 1989: 71).

In 1984, thanks largely to US monetary
support, the PDC's Duarte won a narrow election over
D'Aubuisson (García, 1989: 78). Policy, however, was
in a state of gridlock, however, thanks to conservative
control of the Constituent Assembly. In the 1985 elections,
the people gave the PDC a clear mandate to rule, with 52% of
the popular vote, and 33 seats. ARENA remained the main
opposition party, with 13 seats, while the PCN gained 12
seats with 8% of the vote. Democratic Action and the
conservative Salvadorean Authentic Institutional Party
(PAISA) each gained a single seat in the
election.

The 1988 elections were precipitated
by corruption charges against PDC leaders and an escalation
in leftist guerilla violence. As citizens became
dissatisfied with PDC attempts to end the violence (and,
indeed, the FMLN's violent tactics themselves), the PDC lost
its control of the Legislative Assembly to the ARENA-PCN
alliance. The PDC gained only 23 of 60 seats, with 36% of
the popular vote, while ARENA won 30 seats with 48% of the
vote. The PCN, with 8% of the vote, received the final 7
seats.

In 1991, 6 parties competed for seats
in the legislature (which had increased its size from 60 to
84 seats). The FMLN chose not to participate in these
elections, but the left was represented by the newly formed
Democratic Convergence (CD) which won 8 seats and 12% of the
popular vote. ARENA, while not achieving a majority, still
won 39 seats with 44% of the vote, while its ally the PCN
gained 9 additional seats with 9% of the popular vote. The
PDC remained the largest opposition party after the
elections, with 26 seats and 28% of the popular vote, while
the minor Nationalist Democratic Union (UDN) and the
Authentic Democratic Christian Movement (MADC) each were
able to win a single seat in the elections.

The end of the civil war in 1992
instituted a new, more free period in Salvadorean politics.
In 1994, the FMLN participated in its first elections as a
part of a leftist coalition with the MNR and the CD. The
coalition was able to win a total of 22 seats (21 for the
FMLN and 1 seat for the CD) with around 21% of the vote.
However, the results were disappointing, in that the FMLN
was unable to take control from the conservatives. ARENA
secured 39 seats in the election, with 45% of the popular
vote, and the PCN won 4 seats with 6% of the popular vote.
The PDC for the first time began to see its electoral
strength diminish, garnering only 18 seats, while the minor
right party Movement of Unity (MU) secured a single seat in
the Assembly.

By 1997, the FMLN had learned a great
deal about traditional politics, and was ready to make a
strong charge at ARENA's dominance. FMLN ran virtually even
with the ruling party, getting 33% of the popular vote
compared to ARENA's 35%. As a result, ARENA held a slim
plurality (28 t0 27) over the FMLN. The PCN gained 11 seats,
while the PDC continued to see its support slip, winning
only 8 seats with 7% of the popular vote. Democratic
Convergence gained 2 seats, as did both the Democratic Party
(PD) and the Liberal Democratic Party. Movement of Unity was
able to retain its seat in the Assembly.

The most recent elections in El
Salvador show that democratic government may stand a chance
of continued existence. In 2000, for the first time, the
FMLN gained a plurality in the Assembly, winning 31 seats
despite trailing ARENA with 35% of the vote. ARENA gained
36% of the popular vote, but fell two seats short of the
FMLN with 29 seats. The PCN won 14 seats with 9% of the
vote, while the PDC's support continued to decline, as it
won 5 seats with just 7% of the popular vote. The National
Action Party (PAN), which had returned to electoral action
for the first time since 1961, won 2 seats in its
return.

El Salvador is still very much in
danger of returning to its militaristic roots. While
democracy has recently been in vogue for the nation, only
time will tell if this is a permanent shift to democratic
rule, or a lull between authoritarian regimes.

Continuity and Change in
Political Parties, 1961-2000

New Parties formed after 1960
and continuing through 2000

433 National Conciliation
Party. Since its founding in 1961, the conservative PCN
has become one of the most durable of all Salvadorean
parties. Controlling a majority of the assembly every year
from 1961 through 1979, the PCN fell victim to its own
electoral corruption and was ousted by moderate military
leaders in 1979. After elections resumed in 1982, PCN
continued to play an important role as the third party in
the Salvadorean system, uniting with ARENA to form a
conservative coalition in the legislature. In the most
recent elections, PCN had 9% of the popular vote and
controlled 14 seats in the legislature.

434 Christian Democratic Party.
The PDC was founded at the same time as the PCN, in 1960-61,
and lead by José Napoleón Duarte. Basing
itself on other Christian Democratic parties around the
world, the PDC promised reform, economic growth, and an end
to military rule. The primary opposition to the PCN through
1979, the PDC finally achieved an electoral plurality in the
Assembly in 1982, but lost its majority to the conservative
coalition of ARENA and the PCN. Recently, the PDC has seen
its support wane, as it ceases to be the party of the
center-left with the entrance of the FMLN into politics. In
the 2000 elections, the PDC gained only 7% of the vote and
just 5 seats.

436 Nationalist Republican
Alliance. Founded by Major Roberto D'Aubuisson in 1982,
ARENA became the leading conservative political party in El
Salvador. ARENA also had a secret side, involved in death
squads and paramilitary organizations, and advocated all-out
war against the insurgent FMLN. D'Aubuisson himself was
accused of numerous atrocities, and was the alleged
mastermind behind the assassination of Archbishop Romero in
1981. Since receiving a high of 48% of the popular vote in
1988, ARENA's support has slipped with the rise of the FMLN
as a political opponent. In 2000, ARENA received 29 seats
with 36% of the popular vote.

437 Farabundo Martí National
Liberation Front. Modeling itself after the Sandinistas
in Nicaragua, the FMLN was founded in 1980 to achieve a
military victory over the armed forces, eliminate oligarch
control of the economy, and establish a socialist state.
What followed was 12 years of guerilla fighting and civil
war, at a tremendous human and economic cost to El Salvador.
In 1992, the FMLN reached an agreement with the government
that would allow it to become a legal political party, and
improve the electoral process to make things more fair. In
1994, participating with Democratic Convergence, FMLN won 21
seats, becoming immediately the primary opposition party to
ARENA. In 2000, for the first time ever, the FMLN gained a
plurality of the seats in the legislature, winning 31 seats
with 35% of the vote.

4310 Democratic Convergence. CD
was founded in 1987 when 3 parties (the MNR, the Social
Democrat Party, and the Popular Social Christian Movement)
united to form a democratic left party. CD won 9 seats in
the assembly in 1991, with 12% of the vote, and in 1994 won
one seat as a part of an electoral alliance with the FMLN.
In the 1997 elections, CD received 2% of the vote but no
seats. It is unknown whether or not CD still exists, as it
may have been replaced by the FMLN by the 2000
election.

4313 Movement of Unity. Formed
in 1991 as the Movement of National Solidarity, the MU is a
fundamentalist Protestant group. MU won 1 seat in 1994 and
1997. It is unknown whether or not MU still exists, or
whether or not it contested the 2000 elections.

4314 Social Christian Renewal
Party. The PRSC gained 4% of the seats in the
Legislature in 1997. Little is known about this party (due
largely to its recent appearance) but it was unsuccessful in
gaining any seats in the 2000 elections, as far as our
research indicated. It is uncertain whether or not this
party still exists.

4315 Liberal Democratic Party.
The Liberal Democratic Party won 2 seats in the 1997
elections. Nothing is known about this party, and it is
undetermined where it draws support, or even if it still
exists.

4316 National Action Party. The
National Action Party created some confusion for the
researcher in coding. All evidence, including the initial
study in Political Parties, indicates that this party
terminated shortly after the rise of the PDC in the 1960s.
However, in the most recent elections, the PAN returned
evidently, and won 2 seats with 3% of the vote. It is
unclear whether this PAN is a continuation of the 1960s PAN,
or else a totally separate party with the same
name.

New Parties formed after 1960
but terminating before 2000

435 Salvadorean Popular Party.
PPS was formed in 1961 by former PAR members who were
dissatisfied with PAR's new leftist tendency. Traditionally
the third place party in elections (behind the PCN and PDC,
respectively), PPS was forced against its will to run
against PCN in the fraudulent 1978 elections. PPS contested
elections as a minor party until 1985. It is undetermined
whether or not PPS continues to exist, but due to a lack of
any sign that it has continued, we have counted it as a
terminated party.

438 Salvadorean Authentic
Institutional Party. PAISA was founded as a splinter
party from the PCN in 1983. Existing until roughly 1989,
PAISA contested both the 1985 and 1988 Assembly elections,
garnering 3.4% and 2.1% of the vote. A right wing party,
PAISA was not able to steal permanent support away from PCN
and ARENA.

439 Democratic Action Party.
PAD was a bourgeois party supported by lawyers,
professionals, and mid-sized business owners. A centrist
party, the PAD contested the 1982, 1985, and 1988 elections,
winning 2, 1 and no seats, respectively. In 1991, it failed
to gain 1% of the vote, and thus was derecognized as a legal
party.

4311 National Democratic Union.
The UDN was a member of the National Opposition Union (UNO)
from 1972-1979, participating as a member of that coalition.
Throughout the 1980s, the UDN served as part of the
Democratic Revolutionary Front (FDR), the political side of
the FMLN. In 1991, it ran for the Assembly, receiving 3% of
the popular vote and a single seat. There is no evidence
that the UDN continued to exist after the FMLN began
contesting elections in 1994, and thus it was judged to have
terminated.

4312 Authentic Democratic Christian
Movement, later the Authentic Christian Movement. The
MAC (previously the MADC) was formed in 1988 as a result of
a schism within the PDC over the party's presidential
nominee. In 1991, the party won a single seat in the
National Assembly, winning 3% of the popular
vote.

4317 United Independent Democratic
Front. FUDI was a rightist, oligarchy-supported party,
founded in 1972. FUDI was a vehicle designed to promote the
presidential campaign of General José Alberto
Medrano, succeeding in winning Medrano 10% of the vote.
After achieving limited electoral success in the National
Assembly during the early 1970s, FUDI ceased to exist by
1977.

4318 Republican Party of National
Evolution. PREN was the party of Colonel Luis Roberto
Flores, and was funded by Salvadorean Palestinians. The
party dissolved after participating in the 1964 and 1966
Assembly elections.

4319 National Revolutionary
Movement. MNR was founded in 1964-65 and is one of the
only Salvadorean parties to formally associate itself with
an international organization, the Socialist International.
MNR contested elections from the late 1960s through the coup
in 1979, including a stint as a member of the National
Opposition Union (UNO) during the 1970s. During the 1980s,
the MNR was closely associated with the FMLN, and eventually
founded the Democratic Convergence in 1987. After the FMLN
entered politics, the MNR (as part of the CD) ceased to
exist.